TRAVELERS' CHECKS

John Flinn, Larry Habegger

Published 4:00 am, Friday, September 7, 2007

Photo: SCHALK VAN ZUYDAM

Image 1of/1

Caption

Close

Image 1 of 1

A female mountain gorilla called Mugeni, 15, and her five month old son, Bonane, in the Kahuzi Biega Nature Park near the town of Bukavu , Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sunday, May 2, 2004. Thousands of farmers overran the forests of Congo's oldest national park - the separate Virunga national park , a World Heritage Site, slashing and burning whole kilometres (miles) in the latest threat to the home of more than half of the world's 700 remaining mountain gorillas, conservationists and park workers say. (AP Photo/Schalk van Zuydam) Ran on: 07-16-2004
A female mountain gorilla called Mugeni, 15, and her 5-month- old son, Bonane, in the Kahuzi Biega Nature Park in Congo. PHOTO MADE AVAILABLE THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2004 less

A female mountain gorilla called Mugeni, 15, and her five month old son, Bonane, in the Kahuzi Biega Nature Park near the town of Bukavu , Democratic Republic of Congo, on Sunday, May 2, 2004. Thousands of ... more

Photo: SCHALK VAN ZUYDAM

TRAVELERS' CHECKS

1 / 1

Back to Gallery

ANAHEIM

New shuttle connects train with Disneyland

Getting to Disneyland on Southern California's expanding rail network will get much easier Oct. 1 with the start of regular shuttle service between the Anaheim train station, the Disneyland Resort and Anaheim Resort hotels.

The shuttles, which will cost $3 for adults and be free for children 10 and under until Jan. 8 ($1 after that), will meet all northbound and southbound Pacific Surfliner trains. The trains run frequently between Los Angeles and San Diego, with a few trains a day rolling to Paso Robles via Ventura and Santa Barbara.

YOSEMITE

Crane Flat gas station to shut for six weeks

One of the longer stretches between gas stations in California will get even longer with the temporary closing this week of the service station at Crane Flat on Highway 120 in Yosemite National Park.

The station and adjacent store are scheduled to close Monday for renovations and to reopen Oct. 19. That leaves only two gas stations open in the national park: at Tuolumne Meadows and Wawona. There are no gas stations in Yosemite Valley.

If you're driving to or through Yosemite, be aware that your last gas on Highway 140 is in Mariposa; your last gas on Highway 120 is Buck Meadows; and your last gas coming from the Owens Valley is in Lee Vining.

- John Flinn

WORLD TRAVEL WATCH

Guerrillas threaten Congo's gorillas

Virunga National Park, home of the rare mountain gorillas in eastern Congo on the borders with Uganda and Rwanda, has been overrun by a rebel army fighting government forces, forcing park rangers to evacuate and leave the gorillas unprotected.

Fighting has occurred in the park and is likely to continue, with the danger to the gorillas high. About 100 of the last 700 gorillas alive in the wild live on the Congo side of the park, and nine have been killed this year, allegedly by the rebels.

Eastern Congo was the site of a five-year war beginning in 1998 that was blamed for the deaths of some 3.8 million people. On-again off-again conflict in the area has raised fears of a resumption of all-out war. Some 10,000 refugees have fled to Uganda.

Germany: A smoking ban went into effect Sept. 1 on most public transport, including trains, buses, aircraft, ferries and taxis, as well as in federal buildings. Fines range from 5 to 1,000 euros (about $7 to $1,365 US).

The law permits rooms in buildings to be set aside for smokers, so many train stations have smoking areas; private businesses in many cases are covered by different local laws. Germany's constitution grants much authority to states so a total ban on smoking in public places will come gradually, if at all. Some states have implemented partial bans.

Sri Lanka: Dozens of tourists at the World Heritage Site of Sigiriya were stung recently by swarms of wasps, with Sri Lankan military officers taking at least 100 victims to the hospital.

The site, which draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year to see the 660-foot-high rock fortress known for its frescoes, is home to usually peacefully wasps. Such attacks have happened before, but what set them off this time is unclear. Police believe a combination of unusual heat and noise created by tourists may have disturbed them.

United Kingdom: While London was enduring the chaos of a Tube strike Sept. 4, those who headed into town on the Eurostar from Paris were celebrating a new record time for traveling between the cities by train: two hours, three minutes and 39 seconds. The trip was a test run of the new high-speed track on the English portion and the new route into London's refurbished St. Pancras station. The route will open for regular service Nov. 14 and will be scheduled to take two hours and 15 minutes - 20 minutes faster than current service.

Latest from the SFGATE homepage:

Click below for the top news from around the Bay Area and beyond. Sign up for our newsletters to be the first to learn about breaking news and more. Go to 'Sign In' and 'Manage Profile' at the top of the page.